Jewish Virginians in the American Civil War

On the eve of the American Civil War, Jews were a distinct minority in the United States, with approximately 125,000 in the North and 25,000 in the South, comprising less than half a percent of the total population. Nevertheless, they played a prominent role in business and civic life, particularly in the South, where they had long enjoyed broader religious liberties. Roughly 2,000 Jewish Americans lived in Virginia in 1861, and like their neighbors, most sided with the state they called home, while a few chose to fight for the Union.[1]

Shortly after the American Revolutionary War, the 1786 Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom opened the door to Jewish immigration to the Old Dominion. Most settled in cities such as Richmond, Petersburg, and Alexandria. Merchants Jacob Cohen and Isaiah Isaacs are believed to have been Richmond’s first Jewish residents. The city’s Jewish population steadily grew after 1786, and by the eve of the American Civil War, it supported three Orthodox congregations.[2]

A tolerant attitude toward Jews prevailed in the antebellum South, though instances of prejudice and discrimination still occurred. South Carolina’s colonial charter guaranteed religious freedom and allowed Jews to own property, leading a large Jewish population to settle in Charleston. Louisianian Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884) became the first Jewish person to hold a Cabinet position in North America as Jefferson Davis’ Secretary of War in September 1861. He resided in Richmond throughout the war.[3]

Since most Virginians approved of secession following the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, it’s no surprise members of this religious faith did as well. Most Jewish residents of Richmond belonged to upper-middle-class families, and many owned slaves, most commonly as household servants. According to the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, over one hundred Richmond Jews fought for the Confederacy in units such as the Richmond Grays and the Light Infantry Blues.[4]

In late 1864, Ezekiel “Zeke” J. Levy, who had enlisted as a fourth sergeant and risen through the ranks, took command of the Richmond Light Infantry Blues (then Company A, 46th Virginia Infantry), Virginia’s oldest and most prestigious military company. While he was the most prominent Jewish Virginian in this storied unit, he was not the only one; fifteen of its original members were Jewish. Isaac J. Levy, Ezekiel’s brother, enlisted as a private and served until his death in the trenches around Petersburg in 1864.[5]

Emma Mordecai, a diarist from a Jewish slaveholding family in Richmond, praised Isaac as “A true Israelite without guile–a soldier of the Lord & a soldier of the South,” echoing Jesus’ description of Nathanael in John 1:47 (high praise indeed).[6]

According to Robert N. Rosen, author of The Jewish Confederates (2000), the Levy brothers attempted to keep kosher and observe their religious traditions during the war. Rosen notes this “did not affect Levy’s standing with the men of his company.” After commanding the Blues as a lieutenant at various times, Ezekiel Levy (1833-1908) was promoted to captain in November 1864.[7]

The Soldiers’ Section of Richmond’s Hebrew Cemetery, at North 4th and Hospital Streets, is the only Jewish military cemetery in the United States and holds the graves of 30 Confederate soldiers. Ezekiel and Isaac Levy are buried in the cemetery, though not in the Soldiers’ Section. Also buried elsewhere in the cemetery is Polish-born Philip Whitlock, a member of the Richmond Grays who was present at John Brown’s execution. Although he never saw combat, Whitlock worked in the quartermaster department and ran the blockade to New York to acquire goods to sell back home.[8]

Privates Herman J. Myers, Marx Mitteldorfer, and brothers Leopold and Sampson Levy all served at various times with the Amelia Light Dragoons, Company G, 1st Virginia Cavalry. Leopold fought at First Bull Run and Williamsburg before being captured by George Stoneman’s forces in 1863. His health declined during captivity, and he joined the quartermaster department after being paroled.[9]

Sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel was likely the most famous Jewish Virginian to fight for the Confederacy. Born in Richmond to a mercantile family who were members of Congregation Beth Shalome, he enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington at age 16, becoming the first Jewish person to do so. Ezekiel served as Corporal of the Guard for the coffin of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, and (as a cadet) he also fought and was wounded at the battle of New Market in May 1864.[10]

Ezekiel remained a staunch supporter of Southern independence until his death, hanging a Confederate battle flag in his studio in Rome, Italy. Although he sculpted many pieces, including a monument to Religious Liberty for the B’nai B’rith organization, his most well-known works are related to the Civil War. These include Virginia Mourning Her Dead (1903) at VMI and the Confederate Memorial that was formerly at Arlington National Cemetery.[11]

In June 1861, Rabbi Max J. Michelbacher of Richmond’s Beth Ahabah Congregation published a prayer for Confederate soldiers in the Richmond Dispatch. It read, in part, “Be unto the army of this Confederacy, as thou wert of old, unto us, thy chosen people! Inspire them with patriotism! Give them, when marching to meet, or overtake the enemy, the wings of the eagle … and in the battle, strike for them, O Almighty God of Israel, as thou didst strike for thy people on the plains of Canaan–guide them O Lord of Battles, into the paths of victory … O Lord, God, Father, be thou with us!”[12]

Several times during the war, Michelbacher appealed to Gen. Robert E. Lee for a blanket furlough to allow Jewish soldiers to observe the High Holy Days. Lee respectfully declined, citing military necessity and a desire not to favor one group of soldiers over another. However, he permitted individual soldiers to petition their commanders for religious furloughs, which would be considered on a case-by-case basis.[13]

When one captain rejected a Jewish soldier’s application to attend synagogue in Richmond, stating that “If such applications were granted, the whole army would turn Jews or shaking Quakers,” Lee overturned the decision, advising the officer that he “should always respect the religious views and feelings of others.”[14]

Not all of Virginia’s Jews supported the South. Major David Mendes Cohen was born in Norfolk in 1827 and enjoyed a long, if tumultuous, career in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning a promotion to captain in 1862. While stationed in New York City, he helped suppress a riot by volunteers of the Empire Brigade. En route to join the Pacific Squadron, he was captured and paroled by Confederate raiders, then court-martialed for challenging Capt. Thomas O. Selfridge’s son to a duel. He is buried in Beth Olom Cemetery in Queens, New York.[15]

At least one prominent Jewish family found itself divided by the conflict. Born in the Kingdom of Württemberg, brothers Isaac and Simon Leterman settled in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they opened a retail business in the early 1850s. Isaac, the elder brother, remained a unionist, while Simon and his wife supported the Confederacy. After the war, the brothers reconciled and resumed their business together.[16]

The wartime experiences of Virginia’s Jewish citizens mirrored those of many of their Christian neighbors while also reflecting concerns unique to a religious minority. Men like Moses Ezekiel who donned the Southern gray were probably sincere when they said they did not fight for slavery. Individual soldiers often described their motivations in terms of defending home, family, or state. Many Jewish families owned slaves and profited from the cotton and textile industries, but they were not driven solely by economic interests. Through patriotism and military service, they sought to dispel longstanding accusations of statelessness and disloyalty, demonstrating their loyalty to the Commonwealth they called home.[17]

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[1] Charles Irons, “Religion during the Civil War,” Encyclopedia Virginia, December 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20260716211616/https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/religion-during-the-civil-war/

[2] A. M. Hofmann, “Virginia” in The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, edited by Cyrus Adler, et al. (Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1912), 440-41; John A. Ragosta, “Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,” Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia, February 21, 2018. https://www.monticello.org/encyclopedia/virginia-statute-religious-freedom

[3] Bertram Wallace Korn, “Jews and Negro Slavery in the Old South 1789-1865” in Jews and the Civil War: A Reader, ed. Jonathan D. Sarna and Adam Mendelsohn (New York University Press, 2010), 87-120; Eli N. Evans, Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate (The Free Press, 1988), 115-136, 159-183.

[4] Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, “Richmond, Virginia,” Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. https://web.archive.org/web/20260124080247/https://www.isjl.org/virginia-richmond-encyclopedia.html

[5] Robert N. Rosen, The Jewish Confederates (University of South Carolina Press, 2000), 169.

[6] Dianne Ashton, ed., The Civil War Diary of Emma Mordecai (New York University Press, 2024); Rosen, The Jewish Confederates, 199.

[7] Rosen, The Jewish Confederates, 96-97.

[8] John Horn, The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War: A History of the 12th Virginia Infantry from John Brown’s Hanging to Appomattox, 1859–1865 (Savas Beatie, 2019), chap. 2, Kindle; Philip Whitlock, “The Life of Philip Whitlock, Written by Himself,” Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives Trust, Richmond, VA. https://web.archive.org/web/20260207020428/https://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/philip_whitlock.html

[9] Rosen, The Jewish Confederates, 203; Robert J. Driver, Jr. 1st Virginia Cavalry (H.E. Howard, Inc., 1991), 189, 208, 211.

[10] Samantha Baskind, Moses Jacob Ezekiel: Jewish, Confederate, Expatriate Sculptor (Pennsylvania University Press, 2025).

[11] Keith E. Gibson, “Moses Jacob Ezekiel (1844–1917),” Encyclopedia Virginia, December 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20260716101053/https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/ezekiel-moses-jacob-1844-1917/

[12] Richmond Dispatch, June 13, 1861.

[13] Robert E. Lee to Max J. Michelbacher, August 29, 1861. https://www.shapell.org/manuscript/robert-lee-furloughs-jewish-soldiers/; Robert E. Lee to Max J. Michelbacher, Sept. 20, 1864. https://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/lee.htm

[14] John Shepard, Jr. “Religion in the Army of Northern Virginia,” The North Carolina Historical Review 25 (July 1948): 343-44.

[15] Robert Marcus and Jim Quinlan, “David Mendes Cohen, Beleaguered Marine,” Southern Jewish History 4 (2001): 71-91; New York Tribune, May 31, 1891.

[16] Jeffrey Hantman and Phyllis Leffler, “Establishing a Community,” To Seek the Peace of the City: Jewish Life in Charlottesville, University of Virginia Library, 2001, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20250903004146/https://explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/seek/establishing. I was unable to find any evidence Isaac or Simon actively fought for either side, as mentioned in some articles.

[17] Moses Jacob Ezekiel, Memoirs from the Baths of Diocletian (Wayne State University Press, 1975), 272; Rosen, The Jewish Confederates, xi-xiii.